Transportation

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Pedal-powered Raht Racer cycle can travel as fast as a car

This hybrid vehicle amplifies pedal power to enable cyclists to travel at car speeds while still getting a workout, and it has a roof to keep you dry in wet weather.

2 visions emerge for getting self-driving cars on road

Some experts predict that car companies will continue to make the cars consumers buy and park in their driveway, and eventually some will be driverless. When the tech companies roll out driverless cars, they likely will be self-driving taxis for urban areas.

Autonomous vehicles will have tremendous impacts on government revenue

AVs will reduce cash flows to governments when speeding tickets, DUI’s, and towing fees are ostensibly eliminated by driverless systems. This was only one side of the coin; AVs will also increase safety and mitigate inefficiencies in transportation systems, thereby saving government and taxpayers big bucks.

Why Uber wants to buy all of Tesla Motors’ self-driving cars

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick reportedly said his company would buy every single fully-autonomous car Tesla Motors build if the automaker can do it by 2020. But why?

China Unveils Plans to Build an 8,000-Mile High-Speed Underwater Railway Line to America

"In the last half decade or so, China has embarked on an astonishing rail construction spree, laying down tens of thousands of miles tracks and launching myriad high-speed lines,"

Google’s Waze Launches a Ridesharing Service in Israel

It’s no secret that the search giant has had a stake in this area for years, especially considering its long-in-development driverless car project.

Will autonomous cars change the role and value of public transportation?

Self-driving cars could alter how we get around–and also change the way our cities work.

Lessons from Overseas Cycling Infrastructure

LennyBoy (civil engineering professor Glen Koorey) posts terrific information concerning bicycle planning best practices, based on his three-month tour of North American and European cities.

Self-driving cars will cost cities, futurists say

Self-driving cars and other emerging technologies are going to cut into municipal budgets nationwide, a panel of futurists says.

This startup is gearing up to be the Tesla of electric buses

Investors pour $55 million into the electric bus maker as it scales up and readies a new factory.

Today’s diesel buses–including the estimated 500 "tech buses" that shuttle workers around the San Francisco Bay area–get around three to four miles to the gallon. Proterra makes an electric bus that is five times more efficient, and doesn’t clog up streets with diesel exhaust.

There’s a catch: the upfront cost. The buses, which use a battery pack and drivetrain designed by Proterra, battery cells from Toshiba and LG Chem, and a carbon fiber composite fuselage, are more expensive to buy than their fossil fuel-powered peers.

However, Proterra–and the investors who just dumped $55 million into the the Greenville, S.C.-based company–believe falling lithium-ion battery prices, lower repair costs, and long-term fuel savings will allow the buses to compete against diesel-powered models and begin to chip away at transit run on fossil fuels.

"Buses are the least efficient vehicles on the roads, with exception of maybe tractors and mining equipment," CEO Ryan Popple told Fortune. "And even with historically low diesel prices our business hasn’t slowed because battery prices are dropping."

Tesla’s massive gigafactory near Reno, Nevada will have the capacity to produce 50 gigawatt hours of battery packs a year once it’s complete, and is already having an effect on prices, Popple says. The first phase of Tesla’s gigafactory is expected to be ready next year.

"All the major suppliers are positioning themselves for life after the Tesla factory and its bringing down prices for everyone."